A Cambridgeshire couple who met at the London 2012 Paralympics star in a new BBC Three short film to dispel misconceptions around sight loss.

The RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) has teamed up with the Beeb for the humorous short as part of the hugely successful Things not to say... series.

The film features eight blind and partially sighted people talking about what not to say to someone with sight loss, and has been created to break down barriers and dispel some of the common misconceptions.

One of the stars is Georgie Bullen, who is registered blind and represented Team GB in the London 2012 Paralympics in goalball.

She appears alongside her boyfriend and former Paralympian, Marc Powell, with whom she lives in Shepreth.

At the age of 5, Georgie developed macular degeneration, a rare eye condition which resulted in her sight deteriorating until she was registered blind at the age of 7.

Georgie Bullen (no 4) in action at the London 2012 Paralympic games (Image: Keith Jones)

“It seems to me that there’s a real lack of understanding around sight loss,” Georgie said. “People think you’re either completely blind or fully sighted. This can lead to ridiculous situations – one of my teammates was chased down the street being shouted at because she didn’t ‘look blind’ and they thought she’d stolen a guide dog.

“It’s really important to break down some of the stereotypes people have about visual impairment, many of which are negative, and I think there’s no better way than hearing from real people sharing their personal experiences.

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“Nobody should try to ‘filter’ themselves around me – there’s no issue with saying things like ‘See you later’ or ‘Take a look at this’. Just because I’m visually impaired, that never offends me.”

Marc, 27, who competed in the judo in London 2012 but retired in 2014, was born with Cone-rod dystrophy, a hereditary condition which meant he has suffered sight loss since birth. Although he is registered blind, he still has vision, albeit severely impaired.

“It’s all about promoting something positive and really changing the perceptions in a nice way rather than it being all doom and gloom,” he said.

A still of Marc Powell from RNIB's #HowISee film launched in August

“A lot of people just assume that people can’t see anything at all and you should be walking around with a guide dog. Some people do have that but you can’t stereotype everybody in the same way.

“Ninety-two per cent of people who are registered blind can still see something.

“There’s this negativity around people with sight loss. It’s not the public’s fault, it’s because you don’t know enough about it and people feel awkward.